DEAR SANTA CLAUS, TAKE NOTE!
XMAS JUMPER? LET’S WEAR THE MAGIC
December 25th: lights, Xmas trees, gifts and the old saying ‘On Christmas we should be good’. We are missing an ingredient, though. And I’m not talking about tasty food you will put on the table, but about a typical must have of this season: the Xmas jumper.
Raise your hand if, at least once, you have been speechless in front of the reindeer sweater that Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) was wearing in Bridget Jones’s Diary. Probably you swore you would never buy something like this or that for sure you would never date a man with such an outfit. Probably you ended up like me: 30 years old, dressed in a Xmas jumper with a sequin penguin on, and an American boyfriend who got a refined pullover with Santa Shark…FROM YOU.
ORIENTAL STYLE: BEWARE THE DRAGON’S BITE!
The wind is blowing from the East: China, Japan, Korea and so on seem to be the inspirational mood of Fall-Winter. So, the oriental style makes a splash and harks back to the traditional dresses. Silk, dragons and kimonos: you run the risk of exaggerating.
All the exotic things attract and seduce. If we talk about fashion, the appeal is even stronger, though. The cold season has come, but this year, in addition to the ordinary quilted jackets and coats, the oriental style dominates the catwalks and our wardrobe too. Coming soon!
When was the last time you cleaned your makeup brushes?
A few days ago, I created a poll on Instagram stories and I asked: How often do you clean your brushes? And 95% responded RARELY. What a mistake! Fatal error. I think that the main reason is due to the scarce information about the importance of washing the makeup brushes.
HARRY AND MEGHAN: ALL TALK…AND ROAST CHICKEN!
Did romanticism die? It’s up to you to judge! Every day many love stories begin and finish, but the most talked about relationship of this period is without a doubt the one of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The grandson of Queen Elisabeth will get married soon: what about his proposal? In front of a roast chicken!
I’m sure that, at least once in her life, every little girl dreamt the Prince Charming. A man dressed in a pair of stockings, blue shorts and with a feathered hat: it’s a questionable choice but everybody can get wrong! Once we grew up our tastes became more sophisticated and we started daydreaming about two real Royal Highnesses. Princes of England fomented the ‘royal ambitions’ of many teenagers, but when William married Kate, he partially destroyed their hopes. Now, his brother did the rest. Harry and Meghan, this is the main gossip of the latest days: wedding soon at Buckingham Palace!
BLOG: WHAT HAPPENS?
Blog, a word that is well-known and discriminated at the same time
Are you a journalist? Do you write for a newspaper or a magazine? Ok. But what happens if you are a journalist and write for a blog? Everything changes, or to be precise, your professionalism changes. That’s what I feel every day when I attend a press day, an event or a press conference.
When I founded my blog in 2012, I didn’t have a clear idea or a general vision. In that period of my life I was getting closer to writing and to the multimedia world that web proposes. Some specific mechanisms, like SEO and website positioning strategy, were completely unknown for me. I didn’t “see” them, I wasn’t aware of their existence and ignored there are appropriate professional studies. Blissful ignorance? I don’t know…
ADPOCALYPSE …NOW: FAMOUS BUT POOR. HOW WILL YOUTUBE CHANGE?
Wannabe YouTubers? If you think that it’s time to count on your creativity and your supposed videomaking skills, unfortunately you are running out of time. To make money with YouTube is a good idea like to bet on the victory of the Italian team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Have you ever heard about AdPocalypse?
«Have you ever considered any real freedoms? Freedoms from the opinion of others… even the opinions of yourself».
I decided to start the article with a quote from “Apocalypse Now” about freedom. Today I want to clarify what AdPocalypse is since, probably it is destined to revolutionize YouTube.
BLACK FRIDAY: SALES, SHOPPING…AND GOODBYE DIGNITY!
Are you going through a bad time? The only black day that everybody wait for, is just one: Black Friday. It’s the most known commercial ‘holiday’, is the beginning of Xmas purchases and pushes to empty our wallet. Great deals, guys! Let’s go shopping!
The appeal of the United States strikes back. So, in addition to Halloween, McDonald and the bridesmaids, in Italy we imported even Black Friday. Probably, many people know that it’s a day (the fourth Friday of November) in which especially the big stores organize incredible promotions and super sales. In other words, it’s the occasion in which everybody needs to buy whatever they find on special offer, of course. Because, it isn’t so difficult to exaggerate. At the beginning you buy just a hard disk and an hour later you have become an associate at Microsoft.
BEAUTY POST: NAYLA INTERVIEWS TOM, THE STYLPRO’S INVENTOR
What’s the best quality of technology? It allows us to interview even those people who live 1,300 km away. Let’s do a step back. I’m ready to tell you what happened.
Press day. Sephora. I was there for work reasons and to discover all the latest Xmas news by Sephora. Several corners of happiness with incredible palettes, blushers, funny packaging, lipsticks, regenerating creams, face masks and make-up accessories. Do you remember Alice in Wonderland? Well, we can turn the title into Nayla in the make-up land (and more). There was a stand where a nice woman was reading tarot cards. She was very popular, but I avoided going there. There were pop-corns, cotton candy, and even a carousel, and then there was Tom with his invention. He’s an engineer that invented an object that I would describe in this way: it’s something that will help you to clean your makeup brushes. No more a problem, but a joy instead. Thanks God, it’s StylPro.
Tom, who is always smiling and has the classic English appeal – but not too much -, made me feel amazed and joyful. To see his invention meant happiness, joy, also satisfaction, excitement and many other moods that clearly mean beatitude.
It’s the manna for every makeup artist and for those who, like me, want to keep brushes tidy and clean. I gave him my business card and he did the same, so we have been in touch and talked in next days. He proposed me to collaborate, but I’ll reveal more soon.
While I was thinking about our collaboration, I decided to interview him and write a post. «Tom, I’d like to interview you for my blog, can you send me a video and answer my questions, please?». Yes girls, Tom Pellereau – the StylPro’s inventor – shot a video 1,300 km away and sent it to me. Gaia translated it, I edited it and here is the result.
LAST-MINUTE INVITATION: NO THANKS!
How many times did you get a last-minute invitation? It doesn’t matter if it is for a birthday party, a press day or a fashion show, the rule is only one: you must say no. If you are wondering why, the answer is easy: be proud.
Whoever calls you at 7:30pm to attend a party scheduled at 8:00pm, generally doesn’t do it for love. We can say that you are the replacement (maybe) number 1 for a place that unexpectedly became available. The same rule is valid when a last-minute invitation is sent to take part in a press day or in any event that of course has been scheduled months ago.
Do you know how airlines manage the overbooking? It’s the same philosophy: there’s a main list and then there’s the one with the reserves. Nobody likes sitting on the substitutes’ bench, therefore, when your participation is asked with a ridiculous notice, remember to say no. If you are looking for a good reason to refuse, find it in your pride. That place wasn’t yours, someone is kindly proposing you to act as a stopgap.
As everyone knows, last-minute invitation is concealed like a forgetfulness, it could be both an e-mail and a text enriched with cute emoticons, or a phone call introduced by a fake “Daaaaaaaaaaaarling!”.
One of the most classic excuses is that your invitation probably got lost “because you know, there are many mail inefficiencies…” or that the e-mail service had some problems in the latest days “and so, you cannot imagine what a mess!”.
The point is that when you will understand (and it isn’t difficult!) that you weren’t the choice but the alternative, you need to decline. Cordially.
Think about how you would feel if the guy that you like decides to have dinner with you only because another girl gave him a flat refusal. The sensation is being a second-best, a not bad option that in any case could work.
It’s obvious that a last-minute invitation for a fashion show doesn’t have any emotional involvement, but unless you really consider it important or can take some economic and professional advantage from it, saying no will be classy and won’t make you look like a desperate that was anxiously waiting for that call. If it would be too difficult, at least take time and hesitate: pretend to check your planning, to have to reschedule another appointment…in other words, keep in limbo those who behaved in this way with you until the very last moment.
It’s a matter of principle, nobody loves a heated-up soup, even less if it’s the one that someone else rejected. Bear in mind that, it doesn’t matter the circumstance, those who want you will seek you, and will do it in advance. In this case, Miranda Priestly is a great example to follow: «I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to confirm an appointment. […] R.S.V.P. Yes to Michael Kors’ party, I want the driver to drop me off at 9:30 and pick me up at 9:45 sharp. Call Natalie at Glorious Foods and tell her no for the fortieth time. No! I don’t want dacquoise. I want tortes filled with warm rhubarb compote […] ». Devil wears Prada, docet.
